Da Pitch aren’t giving up on that title yet. They’re making every effort to close that gap. Scoring 105 points should help, unless the team you’re chasing racks up 104. The big scores were plentiful this week – seven in triple figures – only one less than last week. Albion aren’t out of contention either, posting 95 points. Our leaders however, crucially, still have their triple captain.

April has probably produced a Buckets record for the highest monthly score for a four week game month. It took Kebab Eaters 351 points to win it – which included two 100+ scores. We’re looking at an average score of close to 90 points a week. Mentions too for the Islanders, Caligula and Da Pitch who weren’t far behind, also averaging an 80+ weekly total.

For the second successive week we have a highest weekly score of 125 points. It was the triple captain chip that garnered the triple figure totals this week. And it was the triple captaining of one player in particular, Mo Salah, that reaped the greatest reward. The Islanders held the highest weekly score prize for one week only – they only scored four goals to the Reds’ seven. Most of us realised that all out Liverpool was the way to go with them coming up against the whippiest of whipping boys, Huddersfield. I suspect the Islanders are saving their triple captain for the last gameweek – a tactic which I think they’ve employed before – but had they gone with it they’d have accumulated the highest weekly score, won the manager of the week, the manager of the month AND probably sewn up the Buckets title.

Player of the week – Mohamed Salah – Liverpool – 19 points

It’s Salah’s second player of the week award. What a week to land the triple captain chip. He was always going to be the one and this Huddersfield fixture was always likely to be the game. There have been frustrating moments throughout the fantasy season for Salah owners, but he’s still leading scorer, and now by a fair distance. It appears that by not reaching the heights of last season he’s unworthy of a player of the year nomination or a place in the team of the year. Nonsense.

Bargain of the week – Cyrus Christie – Fulham – 11 points

Three consecutive clean sheets for Fulham. How did that happen? There’s no point in discussing this any further. Only ghost ships own Fulham defenders.

Twat of the week – Ainsley Maitland-Niles – Arsenal – -2 points

Doesn’t anybody want Champions League football next season? Maitland-Niles did Arsenal’s Europa League cause more good with dopey 30 minute red. He was on the Rip Roaring Reds’ bench. A smart place to put him.

We may have our champions. An expertly played double gameweek has (probably) pinched the highest gameweek score and has created a gap at the top of the table with three gameweeks left to play. The Islanders scored one of only eight triple figure scores in the week in which they were more likely to happen. The bench boost was the chip of choice for the Islanders and they managed to pick two of the three players that amassed 17 points – Gerard Deulefeu and Jonny Castro Otto. Add to that a 16 point captain contribution from Raheem Sterling, a double clean sheet 15 pointer from Aymeric Laporte and a much welcomed improvement in Brighton’s form offering 12 points from Mat Ryan. The Islanders are left with their triple captain, as are their closest challengers, Da Pitch. Albion and Madrid are chipless and will more than likely battle it out for third and fourth.

Player of the week – Ayoze Perez – Newcastle United – 17 points

It’s not uncommon for a single gameweeker to triumph in a double gameweek – it happened last week of course. Thanks Brighton. It was maybe less likely to happen this week given the larger pool of double gameweek players to pick from and the teams that were playing – six of the top half. I mentioned a few weeks ago as Ayoze Perez posted a 16 point gameweek that at the same time last season he came into incredible goal scoring form to save Newcastle from a relegation scrap. And that the same thing could happen last season. It is.

Manchester City were the only team to keep two clean sheets of the double gameweekers. Wolves kept one against Brighton and were unlucky not to add a second against Arsenal. Despite conceding one against the Gunners two of their three goals had wing back involvement. Matt Doherty scored his fourth league goal of the season, assisted by his mate on the opposite flank, Jonny, who added a second assist to help him to his second double figure total of the season.

Twat of the week – Nacho Monreal – Arsenal – 0 points

It was difficult to pick a twat this week. Monreal scored zero and was the costliest of those players so he takes the honour. Both Arsenal and Manchester United shipped six and did their Europa League hopes the world of good.

The 2019 Buckets Cup final will be contested by The Craggy Islanders and Neil Madrid. Both are previous league winners and losing cup finalists, so whoever wins will become just the third team to have won both a Buckets Cup and a Buckets League title. We could even see another double with the Islanders taking their place at the top of the league this week and Neil Madrid closing the gap in fourth place.

Another relatively low scoring week on the whole. Two missed penalties by PEA and Paul Pogba may have affected some final totals. Bad if you had both. Double bad if you stuck the armband on one of them. Pogba particularly was a popular choice for captain. I don’t think any of us were unlucky enough to chance the triple captain. Drop It’s 70 points contained a 25 point West Ham contribution. Is that part of a strategy working towards the blank in which the Hammers are one of the ten teams with a game?

Player of the week – Declan Rice West Ham United – 15 points

There aren’t many players who have ended the gameweek as the highest scorer on two occasions. Who’d have thought a West Ham defender would achieve that feat, particularly given their shoddy clean sheet record. Rice’s goal, clean sheet and top bonus against Newcastle matches his performance against Arsenal back in GW22. It’s worth noting in the six intervening games he’s only picked up an additional 10 points.

Bargain of the week – Andreas Periera – Manchester United – 12 points

The second best goal in a game full of cracking goals and an assist to one of Romelu Lukaku’s double and, given the lengthy Old Trafford injury list, we have a £4.5 million Manchester United player in with a shout of nailing down a place for the forthcoming double gameweeks.

Twat of the week – Lucas Torriera – Arsenal – -2 points

Not many North London derbies go by without a red card. This time Arsenal’s tenacious Uruguayan midfielder got the early bath – if you can call the 95th minute early. I’m sure most managers will be cursing those penalty misses more.

Manager of the week AND December manager of the month – Rip Roaring Reds – Sean Whyton – 375 points

Last update I posted a league table of the runners and riders for the December manager of the month prize. It was the top 12 from Frostee Rucker who were out in the lead on 335 points down to Fake Madrid on 300 points. The Reds weren’t in that twelve. They were probably about 15th or 16th. They’re in at number one in the week that matters. With a bullet. Taking the manager of the week accolade to seal the monthly prize makes it even more impressive. And it’s boosted them 10 places in the overall rankings from 30th to 20th. It’s rare to jump that many places at this point in the season. You need a very, very good week to achieve that. Ousting one misfiring City asset in Leroy Sane and replacing him with Paul Pogba and then captaining him was the catalyst. A brave move that paid off handsomely.

Player of the week – Paul Pogba – Manchester United – 18 points

City players out. United players in. Not least the one player in red whose caused the most controversy, been the biggest talking point, been the most divisive, been the most disappointing. Not any more. Under Solksjaer, Pogba has hit three double figure scores in succession. That’s Salah-esque. For 5 million less. Can you afford to be without him? And his mates. It reminds me of Leicester’s championship winning season when everyone could afford to have Vardy and Mahrez because they were so damn cheap. You can have a triple pick of Pogba, Lingard, Martial and Rashford for the same price as Sterling and Aguero.

Bargain of the week – Neil Etheridge – Cardiff City – 15 points

Joining Callum Wilson as the only player to gain two weekly high scores, Neil Etheridge has risen to the second highest scoring keeper, keeping five clean sheets, saving three penalties, including one in this game, and making a shitload of saves – more than any other stopper. He’s way ahead of any other keeper in his price bracket, but still, more of us feel safer with the greasy gloves of Joe Hart and Lukasz Fabianski.

Twat of the week – Shkodran Mustafi – Arsenal – -1 points

What happened to the North London derby Arsenal? Only PEA seems capable of keeping up his pace of scoring. I’m not sure there’s ever been a more untrusted Arsenal defensive collective in fantasy league history. There is no Arsenal player on the first page of defenders.

A second manager of the week award for Salah Buffoon!!! Their last, in GW8, helped them jump into the top 40 and came largely as a result of sticking the armband on Eden Hazard and reaping the rewards of a double figure haul. Ditto this week. Hazard’s first 10+ total in nine weeks has helped the Buffoons rise into the top 30. Hazard scored a goal and a noteworthy fifth assist in four games to help Chelsea to victory over Brighton. Chelsea’s good festive fixture run might enable Hazard to produce more of the same – although it does appear that he’s ended the week with a yellow flag next to his name.

Player of the week – Henrikh Mkhitaryan – Arsenal – 14 points

Bargain of the week – Danny Ings – Southampton – 13 points

Southampton’s impressive win over Arsenal provides both the player awards this week. Does this prove it’s better to pump more money into your midfield than it does into your attack? Danny Ings’ brace and top bonus comes in at 11 points to Mkhitaryan’s 12 (2 goals plus 2 bonus points), and so he somewhat unluckily, given the match result, has to settle for the bargain award.

The Arsenal side that looked so impressive in the North London derby haven’t fulfilled that fantasy point-scoring promise, particularly Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who many managers instantly transferred in as a result of his performance against Spurs. Mkhitaryan gave way at half time in that game and has only played 45 minutes in each of the games since, so it would have been hard to predict his involvement here, never mind the likelihood of him netting twice.

Attention may switch to Danny Ings again as it did in the early weeks of the season. The Southampton striker needs to stay fit having just come back from a six week lay off. He and Salomon Rondon appear to be the only viable sub £6 million striking options on the table at the moment.

Twat of the week – Laurent Koscielny – Arsenal – 0 points

And to complete the set. It’s not the return to first team action that Koscielny would have wanted, but worth noting that he lasted the full 90 minutes and starts at a reasonably priced £5.4million. You’d expect him to be a regular, maybe once the busy festive schedule is out the way, so definitely worth keeping an eye on. Arsenal need to improve defensively and maybe Koscielny will help them do that.